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My Dirty Little Secret

belladonna

belladonna

Ronin
So, one day I was just window shopping online and this FN caught my eye. I wasn't even in the market for another handgun, like... I need another gun like I need another hole in my head (and I have quite a few - but somebody told me once that one could never have "too many" guns, so...). Anyway, this FN509 Midsize MRD was being sold for about $400 below MSRP, so after a little bit of research, I bit.

Now for the dirty little secret part...it was a demo gun. I am sure some of you may think I'm crazy (you're not too far wrong ;)), the way I figured it...if it works well, great - if not, it would be something to tinker with and learn stuff from. Well, you saw the photo I posted, cosmetically it was in great shape. It was completely another story when I went to rack the slide and feel the trigger. I thought to myself...wtf did I buy?? So I stripped it down and cleaned it up. I have to say that it was the filthiest gun I have EVER seen. I don't think the thing had ever been cleaned since it came out of the box. I reassembled it and still had a hard time with the mechanics, so I took it to my gunsmith. I was going to have him check it out for me anyway, and I am glad I cleaned up a little bit beforehand, because it was really gross. He tore it apart completely, inspected, cleaned and lubed it (I forgot how much I like the smell of Hoppe's). It didn't need any replacement springs or parts or anything.

Now today, I finally got to shoot it. Not sure what I expected and I kept my expectations low, but wow! It shot like a dream...really smooth. It has suppressor sights on it which I had to get used to, but it ran flawlessly. I fed it both Blazer Brass and Federal Eagle in 124 grain. I thought I had some 115gr in my range bag and was going to try it to see if it is fussy like the others, but I must have used it up. I shot 200 rounds through it with no malfunctions, no issues.

IMG_5433.jpeg


First target kinda sucked, but I was just getting used to the sights and the feel of the recoil and the trigger. The trigger is almost, if not as nice, as the VP9. The recoil isn't bad at all. It was like shooting one of my 45s.

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The second target was a bit better. Getting the hang of the suppressor sights. I thought they might be a little bit off, but I'm sure that's just me.

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Not my best, but still a dead bad guy. Packed it up after that. It was pretty warm in there, but it was nice to have the place to myself...just me and the RSO.

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All in all, I don't think I did too badly. Spent $360 on the gun and $70 for my gunsmith. I am thinking this one will be getting more range time with my other favorites😎. I don't think I'll get in the habit of buying demo guns, but my dirty little secret worked out this time, so far ;).
 
And I’m willing to bet the more you shoot it and clean it (and lubricate it), the more the parts might mesh together a bit better, the trigger might smooth out a bit, etc. Not sure how long it was a demo (rental?) before you acquired it, but I would think a new recoil spring assembly might be called for. I know your gunsmith said it didn’t require any new springs, but who knows how many rounds your gun has sent down range. And I’ll freely admit I don’t know FNs recommended RSA replacement round count.

Looks like you had a lot of fun!
 
I think you did yourself a favor getting a demo gun because the 509 pretty famous for having an appalling trigger. I actually sold mine because it was so bad. The odd thing was that it shot well, but that trigger…and the FNs aren’t exactly cheap. Perhaps the MRD is the sweet spot. My 545 has an amazing trigger. Anyway, great looking targets. Enjoy.
 
SimonRL said:
I think you did yourself a favor getting a demo gun because the 509 pretty famous for having an appalling trigger. I actually sold mine because it was so bad. The odd thing was that it shot well, but that trigger…and the FNs aren’t exactly cheap. Perhaps the MRD is the sweet spot. My 545 has an amazing trigger. Anyway, great looking targets. Enjoy.
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I have no idea the round count. I was really surprised by how smooth the gun shot. The trigger felt like pure 💩 when I first tried it when I got the gun. Thought for sure I’d be replacing it, but it truly rivals my VP9. I emailed FN for some info on it and they told me that they don’t keep records on demo guns, but they said the recoil spring is 15 lbs. It’s fine so far.
 
Is the trigger the original trigger? My friend bought one new with a flat trigger and it was an awesome shooter. He got it on sale and then got $20 off at Grab-A-Gun and then got the FN rebate. We all expected it to have a normal FN trigger but it had the flat one. I have never seen a flat trigger on the FN site or anywhere else on the internet. I later heard that FN had a batch that they had Apex or another trigger manufacturer supply triggers for.
 
Cokeman said:
Is the trigger the original trigger? My friend bought one new with a flat trigger and it was an awesome shooter. He got it on sale and then got $20 off at Grab-A-Gun and then got the FN rebate. We all expected it to have a normal FN trigger but it had the flat one. I have never seen a flat trigger on the FN site or anywhere else on the internet. I later heard that FN had a batch that they had Apex or another trigger manufacturer supply triggers for.
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As far as I know this gun was not modified. Here’s a look at the trigger.
IMG_5437.jpeg
 
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